Main Points
Donald Trump’s new tariffs have come into force, including a tariff of 104% on China, the world’s biggest exporter.
Higher tariffs on China were announced after Beijing refused to meet Mr Trump’s deadline to withdraw retaliatory levies on the US.
Mr Trump said overnight that the US is “very shortly” going to announce a “major tariff” on pharmaceuticals, which he claims will pressure pharma companies to “leave China” and build manufacturing capacities in the US.
Mr Trump has targeted a list of 60 “worst offending” countries – who will face tariffs ranging from 11% – 50%.
The European Union (EU) is to hit back at the United States with its own tariffs of 25 per cent, targeting a range of goods from US soybeans, to steel, oranges, chainsaws and washing machines.
The European Commission is planning a further package of tariffs, beyond the measures EU states are due to vote to approve today.
Tánaiste Simon Harris in Washington for a key meeting with US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick, who labelled Irish corporate regime as his ‘favourite’ tax scam.
US markets initially rallied on Tuesday but then fell again when the White House confirmed additional tariffs on China.
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Meanwhile… Irish Times Washington correspondent Keith Duggan reports on the week-long trade mission led by the Government to Washington.
Minister Martin Heydon met his American counterpart Brooke Rollins, the US secretary of agriculture, in Washington on Tuesday for what he described as a “really warm” engagement in which he sought to emphasise the depth of Ireland’s inward investment across the United States.
The meeting, at the US agriculture building on the National Mall, was the beginning of a week-long trade mission led by Mr Heydon, and preceded the meeting of Tánaiste Simon Harris with the US secretary of commerce, Howard Lutnick, on Wednesday.
US agriculture secretary Brooke Rollins has said that new deals could be struck with other countries over trade tariffs by the end of this week.
Ms Rollins made the comments in an interview to Fox News host Bret Baier on the network’s “Special Report” show.
“I believe, sincerely, it will be sooner rather than later. I believe we’ll be hearing about new deals that are being struck, perhaps by the end of the week,” Rollins said, adding 70 countries had reached out to the US for talks.
Tánaiste Simon Harris will tell US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick in the US today Ireland and the EU are willing to find a solution to the escalating trade crisis, writes Keith Duggan.
Mr Harris has travelled to Washington, DC, for a meeting with Donald Trump’s commerce secretary days after the US slapped “reciprocal” tariffs of 20 per cent on EU imports. It is the highest level meeting between the Irish and US governments since Mr Trump set out his aggressive protectionist policy a week ago in a move that has rattled global stock markets.
Mr Lutnick has repeatedly singled out Ireland and the Irish corporate tax regime as the “favourite” of what he calls “tax scams”, arguing that Ireland taxes US pharmaceutical and technology multinationals on their intellectual property (IP) rights at a low rate, at the expense of the United States.
Major stock indexes sank in Asia on Wednesday after US president Donald Trump’s eye-watering 104 per cent tariffs on China took effect. A savage sell-off in US government bonds sparked fears that foreign funds were fleeing US assets.
The US dollar fell against safe-haven currencies, but the onshore Chinese yuan hovered just above the lowest level since late 2007 as Beijing allowed the currency to depreciate further amid the sharp escalation in the trade war with the US.
Few assets were spared the recession fears engulfing markets, with oil prices diving almost 4 per cent. The pain is likely to spread to Europe too, with Stoxx 50 futures pointing to a 3.7 per cent drop upon open.
Good morning, this morning we wake up to the news that US president Donald Trump has issued a fresh warning that the US will soon announce a “major” tariff on pharmaceutical imports.
His comments at an event at the National Republican Congressional Committee on Wednesday morning come as the global US tariffs kick in, including a 104 per cent tariff on China, the world’s largest exporter.
The Irish government is expected to vote on a package of reciprocal European Union tariffs on US goods in a vote in Brussels today.
In a speech on Wednesday, Trump said a tariff on pharmaceutical companies – which would affect tens of billions of euros of Irish exports – will incentivise drug companies to move their operations to the US.